Alert! Dorman Cam Synchronizer Assembly!

[Pro Ford]

If the "origional" Syncro assembly wears out to certain point...the gear on the end will deflect off the cam gear and over a period of time it will wear these teeth down to a knife edge and can and will shear off....thus you loose the contact that drives your oil pump. Usually the chirpping is an early warning sign the unit is in need of replacemant...if it has already broken the sensor its deflecting enough its running severly out of tolerance and hits the sensor(and the gear is assurdly wearing down at this point).

The Dorman units will fail IMO. Yes the roll pins would shear/ break...and the overall unit was garbage top to botttom.

I was informed about this other Cardone part in the above post a little while back. I have no idea how it would perform. I would stick to a Reman with the Ford Core or go NEW Ford assembly.

You will get a check engine/service enging soon light when it wipes out the sensor. It will not effect the timing of the car.

[divotdan@yahoo.com]

Thanks to all who posted their experience with the aftermarket synchronizers and the step by step instructions for replacement. My Vulcan has 115k on it and the intermittent squeak is there, which from what I have read that is the upper limit of life for the original unit. Getting ready to pull the old one out today or tomorrow and replace it with the OEM I bought at Rock Auto. Just wanted to chime in with my 2 cents worth about which unit I chose for the replacement.

This is a classic risk/reward situation. Dorman unit at Advance is $68.00, OEM unit was $95.00 plus about 10 dollars to ship minus 5% discount for a total of right at $100.00. The reward in this scenario is around 30 bucks.
Now on to the risk. Dorman unit fails after 1K-50K miles and (best case) car gets me home and I have to replace the shaft again. Worst case, the failure is catastrophic and the cars dies 100 miles from home due to the lack of oil pressure and other critical engine parts are damaged due to lack of sufficient oil. For me a no brainer, not to save about 30 dollars. I agree Ford should address the problem about what appears to be a short life on the synchronizer but then again I am sure the income stream from replacement parts is a factor.

Since I am running with double platinum plugs that have to be changed every 100k, I chose to look at this as just another maintenance item that will be replaced at that time. If it is as easy as everyone says it is, I will invest the 100 dollars and my labor for the part that is the highest quality available. Besides, look at how much I saved by not taking it to the dealer.

Just my opinion.

[wright1955]

Guys I just installed the Dorman part in my car and then read on you site that the cam synchronizers were giving problems. I called the company and found that they have corrected the problem and the new part number is 689 117. I will post this up better in a few days. If you have any questions please ask.

[spikeyjad]

I wish i would have read this before i changed my synchro assy.
it was barely in there 3 days before the splines on the actual assy were completely sheared off.
was driving down the highway on the way home, heard a loud grinding noise, and the oil light came on.
ouch.
yes, it was installed correctly. haha
so i got home, put the old one back in, changed the oil, and picked up a REAL ford assy. hasnt had a problem since. its probably been about 10-15k miles now and its still running.
that was a close one though.
just be careful and use good parts, lol.

[Bionic]

Well I hate to say thi but, important part = bought mine at the dealership 250 bucks with nodouble work or oil leak, and no need fir excedrin

Thanks for the heads up though!!!


QUOTE (Pro Ford @ Dec 14 2007, 07:04 PM)

Fellow Members,
I installed 3 new Dorman(CHINESE) syncro units back the 2nd week of October (2) #689-104 (1996-1997 3.0L Vulcan) and (1) #689-107 (this was for a 98 3.0L Vulcan) . I put one in my brothers 97 GL, 1 in my mother-in-laws 97GL an the other into my mothers 98 SE.
The reason I went a head and chaged these 3 is in a thread I made about my wifes GL Here>Read Here
Fast forward to last night, my brother said his car was leaking oil horribly. I checked it out and it was coming out of the sensor on top the new syncro. When I pulled the sensor off it was completly full of oil. WTF! I yanked the syncro unit out and I was totally Horrified. The roll pin in the gear was split in half and falling out of the gear and the gear was loose on the damn shaft....this is a press fit application(supposed to be). It also wore the thrust washer on top the gear. JUNKED! 2500 miles. I was fortunate it did not grenade his engine.

So I go pick up the mother-in-laws and pulled it out.....the freaking gear was loose on that one and had play in it also...not totally failed yet but was already stressing the pin horribly and it has oil weeping under the sensor already. JUNK #2. around 1500 miles.

I then go pick up my mothers 98 and you guessed it...the freaking pin and gear are loose here also...JUNK.

These units WILL FAIL! I fortunatly had all the old units lying on a shelf and put them back in till my Reman units(A1 Cardone...USA) come in Monday. The parts house was astonished but not suprised....loose tolerances and sub-standard metallargy.

Do yourself a favor if you are using one remove it and inspect it ASAP! I could understand finding a bad part out of a barrel but all three is a whole other ballgame.
BTW, Im going to pull the Reman-Napa(actually A1 Cardone) out of my wifes tommorow to see how it looks. I BET it is perfectly fine.
Yours Truly,
Pro Ford[/b]

[gpedens]

I have a 97 sable 164K, 02 sable 110K, and 07 taurus 55K. The 97 had the synchro replaced at about 80K and 160K. The 02 had the syncro replaced at about 105K. The 07 still has the original, but if I listen closely, I can heara very faint squeek in the area it should be. I had mine replaced at the local independant or the dealer. As far as I know Ford parts were used all 3 times. I had them save one of the old parts for my curiosity and to see if it was repairable. It was a ford part and it would squeak and bind when turned by hand.

The gear is definetly pressed on. I removed the roll pin and tried to drive it off only to have it move a little after much pounding. I then put it in a 12 ton press to remove the gear. The shaft then had to be soaked in WD40 to loosen the red varnish from the cooked oil before I could get the shaft out.

The top end or sensor end of the shaft was worn. It had only been chirping when first started up for about 2 or 4 weeks before I took it to the shop to have it replaced. The top bearing is pressed in and looks like it is the sintered metal and graphite type oilless bearing as there is an o-ring seal below the bearing that would keep engine oil from getting the top part of the shaft and bearing.

From what I see the only keeper parts are the gear and body. The shaft, seals, and bearing would need to be replaced. It might be possible to weld up the worn area and grind the old shaft.

After cleaning and reoiling it does not squeek or bind, but i would not reuse it due to the worn shaft. It might last a little while but I would be afraid it would seize and ruin the motor.

[harry99GSX]

Hi guys. New here and obviously found the right place for the information I need. Thank all of you VERY much.......... BUT I need a little bit more help.

To make a long story short, I acquired a 1996 Ford Taurus GL. After many small problems etc. I was told that I have the dreaded 340 code. I needed a FAST CPS replacement, so I was able to pick up a cheap Airtex replacement sensor.

I went ahead and decided to put the sensor on myself, and well had a little bit of a surprise. I removed the old unit and sure enough the magnet, etc. was out and pretty much made a mess. A BIG mess!

Apparently this car had been run for a long time with the old, destroyed sensor. The tab on the synchronizer assembly was not even attached. It literally wore down the area it is supposed to be attached to. I cant even tell where the tab broke off from. There just isn't any sign whatsoever to see it's orientation.

How is it possible to make the appropriate marks on the assembly to pin it's location so I can match the new assembly to the orientation of the old assembly? I just don't see any way of doing it.

If I can't tell where the tab was at to mark it appropriately, how is it possible to install the new assembly?

This is my only mode of transportation, and in NO WAY can I afford to have a dealership or any reputable mechanic do the repair.

Honestly the only thing I can afford is the new synchronizer. I am getting the Motorcraft one though.

PLEASE, can somebody help me figure out how to do this repair?

If it helps, I can post pics of what I mean.

Is there ANY way of doing this? Maybe I'm making this out to be harder then it really is, but after reading the information here, I don't see how it can be done if I cant mark the old one properly.

PLEASE and THANK YOU to anyone that is able to help me.

[himpter]

QUOTE (00tec-saTX @ Dec 20 2007, 12:13 PM)

QUOTE (Bryan S @ Dec 20 2007, 10:38 AM)

GREAT! I just performed this repair last weekend! I used the Dorman part also. It fit well though. Nice and tight with no play. Looks like I'll have to tell my cash strapped son the good news...... more $$$$ to keep your car alive! I have to replace an O2 sensor this weekend. I had to replace the oil pan gasket and trans pan gasket last month, the cam sync last weekend, It also needs tires. It might be cheaper to sell it and get something different. The AC is blowing fuses also.... more $$$$. I guess what I heard is true..... great cars until they get to 90,000.... then they blow up! [/b]

[/b][/quote]

Hey Bryan S, good click dear, at this high speed you might have experienced rock!! I also love to drive speedily and I had reached to 100 in my SX4 car, I was feeling really great at that time.
Thanks foe showing this pic..

[vincendetroit]

well there ya go,,use eiter oem,,or napa,,or nuthin at all...unless you like replcin parts over n over agin

[mrpicky]

Well just got my "upgraded" Dorman cam sychronizer from Rock Auto. Part # on the box reads 689-117. Part # on the actual sync 689-107 219. I used the tool and camshaft sensor from Dorman with a reman Cardone sync (Ford emblem and # still etched on side $53 at AZ). Works fine now. It did have the chirp. I think Dorman is still trying to pull a fast one on these syncs though. This unit was put in a 2000 Ford Ranger but wanted to inform everyone about the bait and switch still going on at Dorman.